Polymers containing conjugated groups are known to be useful as materials for preparing organic based light-emitting diodes. However, their light output at low drive voltage and efficiency are less than desirable for certain applications. Thus, there is a need for devices with improved efficiency and a need for devices that can provide high brightness at low drive voltage.
In one aspect, this invention is a copolymer comprising 10-90 percent by weight of groups of Formula (I): 
and from 10-90 percent by weight of groups selected from Formulas (II), (III), and (IV): 
and mixtures thereof; wherein R1 is independently in each occurrence H, C1-C20 hydrocarbyl or C1-C20 hydrocarbyl containing one or more S, N, O, P or Si atoms, C4-C16 hydrocarbyl carbonyloxy, C4-C16 aryl(trialkylsiloxy) or both R1 may form with the 9-carbon on the fluorene ring a C5-C20 cycloaliphatic structure or a C4-C20 cycloaliphatic structure containing one or more heteroatoms of S, N, or O;
R2 is independently in each occurrence C1-C20 hydrocarbyl, C1-C20 hydrocarbyloxy, C1-C20 thioether, C1-C20 hydrocarbylcarbonyloxy or cyano;
R3 is independently in each occurrence carboxyl, C1-C20 alkyl, C1-C20 alkoxy or a group of the formula xe2x80x94CO2R4 wherein R4 is a C1-C20 alkyl; and
a and b are independently in each occurrence an integer from 0 to 3.
In a second aspect, this invention is a composition comprising (a) 1-99 percent by weight of the copolymer of the first aspect of the invention, and (b) 99-1 percent by weight of at least one polymer containing groups of Formula (I) and, optionally, conjugated groups other than those of Formulas (II), (III), and (IV).
In a third aspect, this invention is an electroluminescent (EL) device comprising at least one organic film, at least one of which is a light-emitting organic film, arranged between an anode material and a cathode material such that under an applied voltage, holes are injected from the anode material into the organic film adjacent to the anode material and electrons are injected from the cathode material into the organic film adjacent to the cathode material when the device is forward biased, resulting in light emission from the light-emitting organic film; wherein at least one layer comprises the copolymer of the first aspect of the invention.
The copolymers of the invention, when used as a light-emitting and/or hole-transport layer in an electroluminescent device, provide a device with higher efficiency and higher brightness at low drive voltages than a corresponding device without a copolymer of this invention. Efficiency is expressed as lumens/watt (Lm/W). These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.
The term xe2x80x9cconjugated groupsxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to moieties containing double bonds, triple bonds and/or aromatic rings. The incorporation of such groups into a polymer may be used to modify its light absorption, ionization potential, and/or electronic properties. xe2x80x9cHydrocarbylxe2x80x9d as used herein means any organic moiety containing only hydrogen and carbon unless specified otherwise, and may include aromatic, aliphatic, cycloaliphatic and moieties containing two or more of aliphatic, cycloaliphatic and aromatic moieties.
In the above formulas, R1 is preferably H, C1-C12 alkyl, C6-C10 aryl or alkyl-substituted aryl, C4-C16 hydrocarbylcarbonyloxy, (C9-C16 aryl)trialkylsiloxy, a poly(alkyleneoxy) group having a terminal hydroxy, C1-C10 hydrocarbyloxy, or a group of the formula: xe2x80x94(CH2)bCO2R6, xe2x80x94(CH2)bSO3R6, xe2x80x94(CH2)bN(R1)2, xe2x80x94(CH2)bN+(R1)3, or xe2x80x94(CH2)bxe2x80x94CN, wherein R6 is a C1-C6 hydrocarbyl, H, Li+, Na+, or K+, and b is as defined above. In the embodiment where the two R1 form a ring structure with the 9-carbon atom of the fluorene ring, the ring structure formed is preferably a C5-C20 cycloaliphatic structure or a C1-C20 cycloaliphatic structure containing one or more heteroatoms of S, N, or O; even more preferably a C5-C10 aliphatic ring or a C4-C10 aliphatic ring containing one or more of S or O; and most preferably a C5-C10 cycloalkyl or C4-C10 cycloalkyl containing oxygen.
The fluorene groups in Formula (I) above may further be substituted at the 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-positions with substituents (R2) which do not adversely affect the formation of oligomers or polymers from the corresponding monomers, nor the subsequent processing of the oligomers or polymers for their intended uses. Preferably, R2 is C1-C4 alkoxy, phenoxy, C1-C4 alkyl, phenyl or cyano. However, xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d is preferably 0.
The groups of Formula (I) are preferably present in the copolymer in an amount, based on the weight of the copolymer, of at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent, most preferably at least 50 percent; but preferably no greater than 99 percent, more preferably no greater than 85 percent, and most preferably no greater than 75 percent. The groups of Formulas (II), (III), and (IV) are preferably present in the copolymer in an amount, based on the weight of the copolymer, of at least 5 percent, more preferably at least 10 percent, most preferably at least 20 percent; but preferably no greater than 95 percent, more preferably no greater than 85 percent, and most preferably no greater than 75 percent.
The polymers and blends of the invention demonstrate strong photoluminescence in dilute solutions or in the solid state. When such materials are exposed to a light of a wavelength of 300-700 nanometers (nm), the materials emit light of wavelengths in the region of 400-800 nm. More preferably, such materials absorb light of wavelengths of from 350-400 nm and emit light of wavelengths in the region of 400-650 nm. The polymers and blends of the invention are readily soluble in common organic solvents. They are processible into thin films or coatings by conventional techniques.
The fluorene oligomers or polymers of this invention preferably have a weight average molecular weight of 1000 Daltons or greater, more preferably 5000 Daltons or greater, even more preferably 10,000 Daltons or greater, even more preferably 15,000 Daltons or greater and most preferably 20,000 Daltons or greater; preferably 1,000,000 Daltons or less, more preferably 500,000 Daltons or less and most preferably 200,000 Daltons or less. Molecular weights are determined according to gel permeation chromatography using polystyrene standards. The degree of polymerization of the polymers of the invention is preferably at least 3.
Preferably, the copolymers of the invention demonstrate a polydispersity (Mw/Mn) of 5 or less, more preferably 4 or less, even more preferably 3 or less, even more preferably 2.5 or less and most preferably 2.0 or less.
Preferably, the copolymer of the first aspect of the invention has one of the following structures: 
wherein n is a number greater than 3.
Processes for Preparing Polymers
The polymers containing groups of Formulas (I)-(IV) may be prepared by any suitable process, but are preferably prepared by one of the processes described below. The condensation reaction of an aromatic boronate and a bromide, commonly referred to as the xe2x80x9cSuzuki reactionxe2x80x9d, is described in N. Miyaua and A. Suzuki, Chemical Reviews, Vol. 95, pp. 457-2483 (1995). This reaction can be applied to prepare high molecular weight polymers and copolymers. To prepare polymers, a dibromide having an internal group selected from Formulas (I)-(IV), or mixtures thereof, is reacted with an equimolar amount of diboronic acid or diboronate having an internal group selected from Formulas (I)-(IV), or mixtures thereof, under the catalytic action of Pd and triphenylphosphine. The reaction is typically conducted at about 70xc2x0 C. to 120xc2x0 C. in an aromatic hydrocarbon solvent such as toluene. Other solvents such as dimethylformamide and tetrahydrofuran can also be used alone, or in mixtures with, an aromatic hydrocarbon. An aqueous base, preferably sodium carbonate or bicarbonate, is used as the HBr scavenger. Depending on the reactivities of the reactants, a polymerization reaction may take 2 to 100 hours. Other variations of reaction conditions are given in T. I. Wallow and B. M. Novak, Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 59, pp. 5034-5037 (1994); in M. Remmers, M. Schulze, and G. Wegner, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol. 17, pp. 239-252 (1996); and in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/956,797 filed Oct. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,070 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. An alternating copolymer results when a dibromide having one type of internal group selected from Formulas (I)-(IV) is reacted with a boron-containing monomer having a different internal group selected from Formulas (I)-(IV). If desired, a monofunctional aryl halide or aryl boronate may be used as a chain-terminator in such reactions, which will result in the formation of a terminal aryl group. For the purpose of preparing high molecular weight polymers, more than one diboronic acid/diboronate and more than one dibromide may be used in a Suzuki polymerization reaction so long as the total molar amount of diboronic acids/diboronates is essentially equivalent to the total amount of dibromides.
It is possible to control the sequencing of the monomeric units in the resulting copolymer by controlling the order and composition of monomer feeds in the Suzuki reaction. For instance, a high molecular weight copolymer comprising mainly large blocks of fluorene homopolymers connected to short blocks of alternating fluorene-comonomer oligomers may be made by first introducing into the reaction reactants in the appropriate ratio to make the alternating fluorene-comonomer oligomers followed by the remainder of fluorene monomers so long as there is an overall balance of boronic and bromo groups.
An alternative polymerization process involves only dihalo-functional reactants, and may be carried out using nickel coupling reactions. One such coupling reaction is described in Colon et al., Journal of Polymer Science, Part A, Polymer Chemistry Edition, Vol. 28, p. 367 (1990), incorporated herein by reference, and in Colon et al., Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 51, p. 2627 (1986). The reaction is typically conducted in a polar aprotic solvent (e.g., dimethylacetamide) with a catalytic amount of nickel salt, a substantial amount of triphenylphosphine, and a large excess of zinc dust. A variant of this process is described in Ioyda et al., Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, Vol. 63, p. 80 (1990), wherein an organo-soluble iodide was used as an accelerator. Another nickel-coupling reaction is disclosed in Yamamoto, Progress in Polymer Science, Vol. 17, p. 1153 (1992), wherein a mixture of dihaloaromatic compounds were treated with an excess amount of nickel (1,5-cyclooctadiene) complex in an inert solvent. All nickel-coupling reactions when applied to reactant mixtures of two or more aromatic dihalides yield essentially random copolymers. Such polymerization reactions may be terminated by the addition of small amounts of water to the polymerization reaction mixture, which will replace the terminal halogen groups with hydrogen groups. Alternatively, a monofunctional aryl halide may be used as a chain-terminator in such reactions, which will result in the formation of a terminal aryl group.
In one embodiment, the polymers of component (b) of the second aspect of the invention contain conjugated groups different from fluorene and amine groups described above. Such polymers may be prepared using the methods described above incorporating at least one conjugated monomeric compound different from the fluorene and amine groups described above.
Examples of conjugated comonomers include stilbene, tolan, C6-C20 mononuclear/polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and C2-C10 mononuclear/polynuclear heterocycles.
Examples of mononuclear/polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons include benzene, naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, rubrene, and chrysene. Examples of mononuclear/polynuclear heterocycles include 5-member heterocycles such as furan, thiophene, pyrrole, oxazole, isooxazole, thiazole, isothiazole, imidazole, oxadiazoles, thiadiazole, and pyrazoles; 6-member heterocycles such as pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, triazines, and tetrazenes; benzo-fused ring systems such as benzoxazole, benzothiazole, benzimidazole, quinoline, isoquinoline, cinnoline, quinazoline, quinoxaline, phthalazine, benzothiadiazole, and benzotriazines; and polynuclear condensed ring systems such as phenazine, phenanthridine, acridine, carbazole, and diphenylene oxide. In general, conjugated compounds containing up to 30 carbons are useful for the present purpose. They may be substituted optionally with one or more substituents that are not deleterious to the photoluminescent properties of the polymer compositions. Examples of substituents include C1-C20 hydrocarbyl radicals, C1-C20 (thio)alkoxy radicals, C1-C20 (thio)aryloxy radicals, cyano, fluoro, chloro, C1-C20 alkoxycarbonyl, C1-C20 aryoxylcarbonyl, C1-C20 carboxyl, and alkyl(aryl)sulfonyl radicals. Substituents which are known photoluminescent quenchers, such as arylcarbonyl and nitro, are undesirable.
Conjugated monomeric units of more complex structures, as exemplified by Structures (1)-(8), may also be used. 
Fluorene-Containing Monomers
Fluorene-containing monomers useful in preparing the polymers of the invention include compounds of the formulas: 
wherein R1, R2, and a are as defined above;
X is independently in each occurrence a halogen moiety; and
Z is independently in each occurrence xe2x80x94B(OH)2, xe2x80x94B(OR4)2 or 
wherein R4 is independently in each occurrence a C1-C10 alkyl group and R5 is independently in each occurrence a C2-C10 alkylene group.
X is preferably chlorine or bromine; but is most preferably bromine. Z is preferably a cyclic boronate derived from ethylene glycol or propylene glycol.
The boron-containing fluorene compounds may be prepared by any suitable method. An example of reaction conditions for preparing boron-containing compounds is described in Remmers et al., Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol. 17, pp. 239-253 (1996). Compounds of a corresponding dihalo-functional compound may be converted to the corresponding dilithio derivative by reaction with two equivalents of butyllithium. Reaction of the dilithio derivative with a trialkylborate followed by hydrolysis yields the corresponding diboronic acid (Zxe2x95x90B(OH)2). Esterification of the diboronic acid with an alkylenediol, such as ethylene glycol, gives the di(cyclic)boronate.
Amine-Containing Monomers
The amine-containing monomers for the synthesis of the copolymers of the first aspect of the invention may be prepared according to the procedures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,801, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Polymer Blends
In a second aspect, this invention is a composition comprising (a) 1-99 percent by weight of the copolymer of the first aspect of the invention, and (b) 99-1 percent by weight of at least one polymer containing groups of Formula (I) and, optionally, conjugated groups other than those of Formulas (II), (III), and (IV).
A characteristic of the amine copolymers of the first aspect of the invention is the low barrier to hole injection from the anode into them. Thus, electroluminescent devices comprising at least one of these copolymers usually exhibit lower turn-on voltage than the corresponding devices without it. Incorporation of these copolymers into devices can be accomplished either by constructing multi-layer devices wherein the amine copolymer is deposited as a separate layer, or by constructing single layer devices wherein the amine copolymer is blended with the emitting polymer and the mixture deposited as one layer.
Preferably, component (a) comprises at least 1 percent by weight, more preferably at least 10 percent, most preferably at least 20 percent; but preferably no greater than 99 percent, more preferably no greater than 95 percent, and most preferably no greater than 90 percent, based on the weight of components (a) and (b).
Component (b) of the blend of the invention may be a conjugated homopolymer, or a random, block, or alternating copolymer having a degree of polymerization of at least 3. Preferably, the polymer or copolymer is highly fluorescent and is readily soluble in most common organic solvents. Examples of suitable polymers containing conjugated groups include polyfluorenes, alternating copolymers comprising monomeric unit of Formula (XV): 
where R7 is independently in each occurrence a C1-C12 hydrocarbyl group, and other monomeric units selected from Structures (1)-(8).
Polymer Applications
Another aspect of the invention is the films formed from the polymers of the invention. Such films can be used in polymeric light-emitting diodes. Preferably, such films are used as emitting layers or charge carrier transport layers. These polymers may also be used as protective coatings for electronic devices and as fluorescent coatings. The thickness of the coating or film is dependent upon the ultimate use. Generally, such thickness can be from 0.01-200 microns. In that embodiment wherein the coating is used as a fluorescent coating, the coating or film thickness is from 50-200 microns. In that embodiment where the coatings are used as electronic protective layers, the thickness of the coating can be from 5-20 microns. In that embodiment where the coatings are used in a polymeric light-emitting diode, the thickness of the layer formed is 0.05-2 microns. The oligomers or polymers of the invention form good pinhole- and defect-free films. Such films can be prepared by means well known in the art including spin-coating, spray-coating, dip-coating and roller-coating. Such coatings are prepared by a process comprising applying a composition to a substrate and exposing the applied composition to conditions such that a film is formed. The conditions which form a film depend upon the application technique. Preferably, a solution processing method is utilized, using a 0.1-10 weight percent solution of the desired polymers in a common organic solvent. For thin coatings, it is preferred that the film-forming composition contains from 0.5-5.0 percent by weight of the oligomers or polymers. This composition is then applied to the appropriate substrate by the desired method and the solvent is allowed to evaporate. Residual solvent may be removed by vacuum and/or by heat. If the solvent is low boiling, then low solution concentrations, for example, 0.1-2 percent, are desired. If the solvent is high boiling, then high concentrations, for example, 3-10 percent, are desired.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to organic electroluminescent (EL) devices comprising a film of the polymers of this invention. An organic EL device typically consists of an organic film sandwiched between an anode and a cathode such that when a positive bias is applied to the device, holes are injected into the organic film from the anode, and electrons are injected into the organic film from the cathode. The combination of a hole and an electron may give rise to an exciton which may undergo radiative decay to the ground state by liberating a photon. In practice, the anode is commonly a mixed oxide of tin and indium for its conductivity and transparency. The mixed oxide (ITO) is deposited on a transparent substrate such as glass or plastic so that the light emitted by the organic film may be observed. The organic film may be the composite of several individual layers each designed for a distinct function. Since holes are injected from the anode, the layer next to the anode needs to have the functionality of transporting holes. Similarly, the layer next to the cathode needs to have the functionality of transporting electrons. In many instances, the hole-(electron) transporting layer also acts as the emitting layer. In some instances, one layer can perform the combined functions of hole and electron transport, and light emission. The individual layers of the organic film may be all polymeric in nature or combinations of films of polymers and films of small molecules deposited by thermal evaporation. It is preferred that the total thickness of the organic film be less than 1000 nm. It is more preferred that the total thickness be less than 500 nm. It is most preferred that the total thickness be less than 300 nm. One embodiment of the instant invention is EL devices whose organic film comprises at least one of the polymeric compositions of this invention.
The ITO-glass which serves as the substrate and the anode may be used for coating after the usual cleaning with detergent, organic solvents and UV-ozone treatment. It may also be first coated with a thin layer of a conducting substance to facilitate hole injection. Such substances include copper phthalocyanine, polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene) (PEDT); the last two in their conductive forms by doping with a strong organic acid, e.g., poly(styrenesulfonic acid). It is preferred that the thickness of this layer be 200 nm or less; it is more preferred that the thickness be 100 nm or less.
In the cases where a separate hole-transporting layer is used, the polymeric arylamines described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/606,180, filed on Feb. 23, 1996, now abandoned; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/696,280, filed on Aug. 13, 1996, now abandoned; and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,801, may be used, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Other known hole-conducting polymers, such as polyvinylcarbazole, may also be used. The resistance of this layer to erosion by the solution of the copolymer film which is to be applied next is obviously critical to the successful fabrication of multi-layer devices. As the copolymers of this invention are applied as xylene or toluene solutions, the hole-transporting layer needs to be insoluble in these solvents. The thickness of this layer may be 500 nm or less, preferably 300 nm or less, most preferably 150 nm or less. Alternatively, the hole-transporting polymer for these devices may be selected from among semi-conducting polymers such as doped polyaniline, doped poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene), and doped polypyrrole. By xe2x80x9cdopingxe2x80x9d is meant the blending of a semiconducting polymer (such as emeraldine base of polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) with an additive which renders the resulting polymer compositions more conductive. Preferably, the conducting polymer is derived from blending poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) with a polymeric acid. More preferably, the polymeric acid contains sulfonic acid groups, and is most preferably poly(styrenesulfonic acid). Most preferred are polymer compositions derived from blending poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) with at least two equivalents of poly(styrenesulfonic acid).
In the case where an electron-transporting layer is used, it may be applied either by thermal evaporation of low molecular weight materials or by solution coating of a polymer with a solvent that would not cause significant damage to the underlying film.
Examples of low molecular weight materials include the metal complexes of 8-hydroxyquinoline (as described in Burrows et al., Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 64, pp. 2718-2720 (1994)), metallic complexes of 10-hydroxybenzo(h)quinoline (as described in Hamada et al., Chemistry Letters, pp. 906-906 (1993)), 1,3,4-oxadiazoles (as described in Hamada et al., Optoelectronicsxe2x80x94Devices and Technologies, Vol. 7, pp. 83-93 (1992)), 1,3,4-triazoles (as described in Kido et al., Chemistry Letters, pp. 47-48 (1996)), and dicarboximides of perylene (as described in Yoshida et al., Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 69, pp. 734-736 (1996)).
Polymeric electron-transporting materials are exemplified by 1,3,4-oxadiazole-containing polymers (as described in Li et al., Journal of Chemical Society, pp. 2211-2212 (1995), and in Yang and Pei, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 77, pp. 4807-4809 (1995)), 1,3,4-triazole-containing polymers (as described in Strukelj et al., Science, Vol. 267, pp. 1969-1972 (1995)), quinoxaline-containing polymers (as described in Yamamoto et al., Japan Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 33, pp. L250-L253 (1994), and in O""Brien et al., Synthetic Metals, Vol. 76, pp. 105-108 (1996)), and cyano-PPV (as described in Weaver et al., Thin Solid Films, Vol. 273, pp. 39-47 (1996)). The thickness of this layer may be 500 nm or less, preferably 300 nm or less, most preferably 150 nm or less.
The metallic cathode may be deposited either by thermal evaporation or by sputtering. The thickness of the cathode may be from 100 nm to 10,000 nm. The preferred metals are calcium, magnesium, indium, and aluminum. Alloys of these metals may also be used. Alloys of aluminum containing 1-5 percent of lithium and alloys of magnesium containing at least 80 percent of magnesium are preferred.
The EL devices of this invention emit light when subjected to an applied voltage of 50 volt or less with luminance efficiency of at least 0.1 lumens/watt, but which may be as high as 2.5 lumens/watt.
In a preferred embodiment, the electroluminescent device comprises at least one copolymer of the invention, arranged between an anode material and a cathode material such that under an applied voltage, holes are injected from the anode material into the hole-transporting polymer film and electrons are injected from the cathode material into the light-emitting polymer films when the device is forward biased, resulting in light emission from the light-emitting layer.
The term xe2x80x9canode materialxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to a semi-transparent, or transparent, conducting film with a work function between 4.5 electron volts (eV) and 5.5 eV. Examples are oxides and mixed oxides of indium and tin, and gold. The term xe2x80x9ccathode materialxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to a conducting film with a work function between 2.5 eV and 4.5 eV. Examples are lithium, calcium, magnesium, indium, silver, aluminum, ytterbium, or blends and alloys of the above.
Illustrative Embodiments
The following examples are included for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the claims.
The amine copolymers in the examples herein have the structures of Formulas (V)-(XII). The other polymers named in the examples herein have the following structures: 
The blends of the second aspect of the invention are prepared by blending an amine copolymer of the first aspect of the invention with F8 or with a mixture of F8 and BT. The notation xe2x80x9c3BTF8xe2x80x9d represents a blend of 3 weight percent BT in F8; similarly xe2x80x9c5BTF8xe2x80x9d represents a blend of 5 weight percent BT in F8.
The syntheses of these polymers and their precursor monomers are described in PCT Publication No. WO 97/05184 and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/956,797, filed on Oct. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,070 entitled xe2x80x9cProcess for Preparing Conjugated Polymersxe2x80x9d, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.